Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the state of his squad ahead of their FA Cup semi-final with Southampton
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola during the Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor on April 22, 2026 in Burnley, England. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola during the Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor on April 22, 2026 in Burnley, England. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
View Image
Pep Guardiola
Manchester City should be feeling brilliant right now. The team have leapfrogged Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table as they head to Wembley again to try to reach a fourth straight FA Cup final, and the club have announced that they are freezing ticket prices for another year.
There has been plenty of joy to be had at the City Football Academy, and there is a familiar glint in Pep Guardiola's eye as the business end of the season approaches. There may be inexperience in his squad yet the manager knows better than anyone in the game how to get everything to click at the right time.
However, doing that on the pitch usually means what has happened at City over the past month: picking basically the same XI every week and trusting them to get over the line. It has worked spectacularly, with wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal (again) and Burnley coming with just three changes in the starting line-up; bringing in Marc Guehi after his Carabao Cup ineligibility, seeing Gianluigi Donnarumma return in goal and then replacing the injured Rodri.
The knock-on effect though, particularly now that City are out of the Champions League, is that about half the squad haven't started a competitive game for the club in over a month. On Friday, Guardiola brought up players being unhappy more than once as he talked about his team selection choices for the semi-final with Southampton this weekend and the fatigue that those who have started must contend with.
"The players who don't aren’t too happy," he said. "Because, you know, the last games we have long weeks, I rotate less. In the last five, six games, we conceded one goal. With the Arsenal game and the rest we have been quite good. I always try to involve everyone, but when I arrive in the last part of the season, always I try.
"Now, I'm pretty sure in the last four, five games, in the team the vibe is good, I rotate less and make less changes. Now I have to think about it because today people were, on the second day, always tired and we are a little bit drained and some physios told me be careful of that player, that player, for the history, for the potential injury. If one player is injured right now, it's gone, it is over. And now I want to have the players available for Everton until the end."
If there is a team that can make changes to nearly the whole team and still win an FA Cup semi-final, it is City. They changed ten for a fifth round tie at Newcastle and comfortably ran out winners, with Savinho and Omar Marmoush (two) getting the goals.
But those players will have to be in the right frame of mind to seize that opportunity, and Guardiola has to weigh up how many of those are in the squad when he makes his final gameplan for Wembley on Saturday. City are going to need a squad to win more trophies this season, and their manager needs to spot which players are using their unhappiness at not playing for added motivation rather than to knock their game further.
"They can be so sad, as much they train good and they have a good relation with their mates and the organisation on the pitch and off the pitch, because they pay the salaries and take care of them incredibly, it's more than fine, it is normal," he said. "I would not like it if they are happy. As much as they train good and they are focused and respect what Manchester City means, it’s fine."